The present invention relates to the field of emergency applications, and in particular, emergency applications for mobile computing devices such as smartphones and tablets.
When faced with an emergency, it is commonplace to contact emergency services via, for example, dialing 911 from a telephone. However, for 911 or other emergency dispatchers to be most helpful and efficient in assessing an emergent situation and the appropriate response to such an emergency, one must be able to continually communicate accurately with the dispatcher. Additionally, to be able to determine where to send help, a dispatcher must possess knowledge of an accurate geographical location of the person in need at the moment of need. Sometimes, during an emergency, individuals do not have the time or ability to stay connected and clearly convey their circumstances to an emergency responder. Furthermore, in an emergency, individuals often do not have enough time for more than a single call; there is usually not an opportunity to contact family or friends in addition to an emergency responder.
In the past, when individuals utilized mostly home phones, the location of the caller was, for the most part, known (i.e., the phone number from which 911 is contacted can be associated with a fixed physical address). Nowadays, individuals often do not have a home phone, and even if they do and that phone is within reach, they often resort to using their mobile phones to make calls such as a 911 call. When outside the home, of course, users are automatically restricted to utilizing their mobile devices. These mobile devices are difficult to assign an emergency response location to ahead of time (as is generally easily done for stationary home phones), due to the fact that a mobile phone holder may be moving across a wide geographic area at any given time. Compounding this can be a scenario in which the person in need of assistance may move or be moved from the location initially reported to emergency personnel.
An additional factor to consider can be that an emergency can be subjective and not all emergencies may require the same response. More specifically, for some situations, which an individual would consider an emergency, the person may wish to contact someone other than the authorities (i.e., police, paramedics, firefighters, etc.) to properly address his or her needs. In some circumstances a user's parents, spouse, other family members or friends may be a more suitable emergency contact. In addition, these non-authority contacts may, in some instances, be able to respond more quickly to an emergency and be able to arrive at the location of the emergency more quickly than the authorities may be able to.